


We Can Be Heros (Just For One Day)

by Flamingoskull123



Category: IM5 (Band)
Genre: Gen, Super Powers AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-09
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-12 11:28:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2108142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flamingoskull123/pseuds/Flamingoskull123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone on Earth is unique, with a different story, different talents and ideas and pasts, but there are some that are just more so. These people are rare, and they have power beyond what you and I do. They're portrayed as super heroes, ones destined to do more for the world than an ordinary person can, but not every gifted person is a hero. Sometimes, they have to save themselves first, and when they team together, they could very well have the chance to change the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Finding Out

**Author's Note:**

> AN: So my friend and I were trying to figure out what the guys’ super powers would be. There was a little debate over Will’s (I thought it should be telepathy and telekinesis, she thought it should be shape shifting,) in the end I won and my idea shall be used in this story. Also sorry for any offensive language that might be used in this fic, I had to make the characters realistic teenagers. The other person who was originally my beta then basically became my co-author is amazing and I couldn't have written this without her.

Will had never had headaches that felt as excruciating as those that had occurred in the past few weeks. Constant voices in his head, all talking at once, and the worst thing, he couldn't shut it off. It was like a switch in his head suddenly shorted out, and he feared that it would never fix itself. The unrelenting wave of noise made his knees want to give out, to slump in the middle of the crowded hallway and sleep, just to get away from the pain. He kept his head down to avoid the florescent lights in the hallway of his school. It was the end of the day and all he wanted was go to his locker, grab his backpack, go home, crawl into his bed, hope that the headache would go away. His usually leisurely gate was subtly replaced with a quick, brisk walk as he tried to get to his locker before it was too late. He shoved his books inside, keeping his eyes anywhere but at his classmates around him, who were sure to notice his vulnerable state if he gave them a chance. Of course it couldn’t be that easy as he heard heavy footsteps behind him and his locker slamming shut. The sound made him flinch. Will hoped the jocks would just do that and leave him alone, but again the universe particularly hated him that day for some reason, as he was roughly pushed into his locker. His head hit his locker making his headache exponentially worse. Will groaned at the impact of the metal on his temple, and his tormentors were for the moment surrounded by patches of black as his vision blurred. Their more distinctive traits came into focus first, like their huge, unnaturally bulky bodies that towered over him like skyscrapers as he slid down to the ground. Jake, Luke, and Kyle were football stars, and like every cliché high school based movie Will ever saw, they were damn good at their sport, especially when it came to body slamming less fortunates after class. Their impending athletic careers after graduation, however, kept them from receiving punishment, and they ruled over students who were scared of them with an iron fist. Which was mostly true because any one who reported them got a ‘talk’ with the coach of the football team. No one knows what this talk entails, only that whoever got it transferred within a week. So Will was left to suffer in silence.

                “And where do you think you’re going in such a hurry?” Luke sneered at Will who squeezed his eyes shut as the voices got louder.

                “You know you forgot to grab our homework on our way out of math?” Kyle said rifling through his backpack and pulling out the night’s math homework. With finals coming the teachers were giving out two times more homework then they would usually give, so of course the jocks would be giving other kids their homework. And since these jocks hated Will for whatever reason, they gave him the subject that they had the most homework in. Now usually Will would suck it up because doing their homework without saying anything would end in no physical violence. But today Will was not in the mood. His head felt like it was about to explode and the voices were getting louder, so he just tried to push through the jocks, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. That plan backfired pretty quickly as he was just pushed back into the locker. “And where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Kyle asked keeping his hand firmly on Will’s chest. He tried to get away again, but it was no use because he was surrounded by Luke, Jake, and Kyle.

                                "You know boys," Jake growled in Will's ear menacingly, "I think we should teach this punk a lesson." Will shrunk back and whimpered, pleading to be released in vain as the others nodded aggressively in agreement. Kyle, who was blond and had a tight, screwed in looking face, shoved him across the hall, and Will crashed into the lockers again. The phrase 'I don't like him as far as I can throw him' came into Will's head as he tried to drag himself up from a pile on the cold linoleum. As his eyes swept the hall, looking for any possible help, he found nobody except Jake, Kyle, and Luke who were walking towards him, swaggering confidently across the floor as though they held all the power in the world in their hands. Where had everyone gone? Before he could think of it more, one of the burly attackers jostled Will over his shoulder, and Will's world was turned upside down, even more so than it was already. Even with nobody there, his head throbbed still because of the beating he was receiving. It was like the memories of the voices had come back to haunt him, creating a fog in which his mind couldn't escape. They stepped outside, with Will pulled along in suit, and the cool fall air helped clear his head, though not very much. He was abruptly dropped onto the asphalt in the parking lot, and with zip ties securing his wrists behind his back, he was pushed into the back of a pickup truck. He looked in a daze up at the half crescent moon as the car engine started up and the truck drove on, the eventually view being obscured by trees. It had been the end of the school day just a few minutes ago, the lapse in time puzzled Will to no end. The truck stilled, and he was dumped into a ditch in the woods, he presumed the ones next to his school. The boys' laughter and celebratory yells into the silent clearing only added to the white noise filling Will's head. The leader, Jake, squatted low next to Will's body, leaning in close to gleefully say "You got what you deserved, you no good shithead." Then, with a swift kick to his stomach, they walked back to the truck, and drove off, leaving Will alone. He shivered and halfheartedly struggled against the binding on his wrists, but it refused to budge in the slightest. At the most, they got tighter. The voices, though probably so far away, were only seeming to get louder and Will couldn't concentrate, to he did the only thing he could. He curled in on himself, a ball of misery amongst the dirt and dead leaves. His only hope was that someone would come and rescue him. His mother was probably calling the cops by now, and he hated to make her upset. But he was stuck, and the world felt like it was slipping away from his as he tried to stay conscious. He would have a concussion at the least in the morning, if someone found him by then. He tried one more time to feebly loosen the zip ties, but it was impossible. The last thing he remembered was closing his eyes and letting the voices consume him.

 

                "Why did I have to come with you again?" Dana whined as he and Cole marched through the woods that surrounded the house they were squatting in at the moment. Well, okay, it wasn't really a _house_ , it was huge, a mansion. They were insanely lucky to find it after leaving the farmhouse they spent about a year in. It was dope, as Dana would say, with furnishing still left from whoever actually owned it, along with electricity and running water that made living a lot easier than it could have been. They went into town every so often to get gas for the generator in the shed, but they hadn't been questioned yet. They even managed to get some security equipment hooked up around the property and the road leading to the woods. It was because of that that they were outside, tripping over tree roots and trying to see through the dark with the small flashlights they had armed themselves with.

                "Because Gabe was asleep and David is guarding the house. Plus, if anyone attacks us you can run back and run back and warn them. Now c'mon. "Cole replied as he stumbled somewhere in front of him. Dana mumbled something under his breath that if he was still at home would get him a bar of soap shoved down his throat. They were out in the cold to investigate a truck that had rolled down the road and left 10 minutes later, which could have been anything. A wrong turn, probably, but Cole thought they needed to check "Just to be sure." Cole had insisted, and knowing how paranoid Cole was about being caught after what happened before, he had agreed. They walked in silence and Dana let his mind wander, thinking about his life before his powers showed up. It had been so simple, go to school, do this chore, he had his family. He would give anything to change what had happened. It all went to shit when he tried out for the track team. He'd always had so much energy, so freshman year, he decided to put it to use and maybe make some friends, put it on some of his college applications. At tryouts, he'd went to starting line and gotten ready. As soon as he heard the coach blow the whistle, signaling the start, he was off. He gave it his all, and it felt so natural. Like breathing. One long stride after the other, it was like his feet didn't even touch the ground. He was flying, his body moving as fluently as water, and then it was over. He reached the end of the track, and he wasn't exactly sure how to hit the breaks for a terrifying second. His heart had been beating so wildly, he was convinced a hummingbird was trapped in there, trying desperately to get out.

                He made the team in the end. After that it was a whirlwind of competitions and victories, one after the other. Some talked about his future someday, probably the Olympics, if he tried hard enough. The days, weeks, months, blurred together, and some people started questioning his 'natural talent'. Even Dana did, eventually. He was faster than anyone he encountered. There were conferences debating whether he should be allowed to even compete on the school team anymore, it was unfair to the other members. He was kicked out, and he lost focus. Of everything. Running had helped, he realized too late, and he couldn't stop. He would run, for hours on end, and when he pulled himself out of the cloud surrounding his head during those times, he could find himself multiple towns, even a state, away from where he started. Running became an obsession that his parents thought was unhealthy. They consulted physicians, therapists, but nothing they told him made running seem any less appealing. If anything, the stress emanating from his parents, and all of the appointments at doctor offices, with sterile, white rooms, made him want it all the more.

                Eventually, he left. He'd met Cole and Gabe when he was running in whatever other state he'd landed in, and they explained how his unnatural speed was more than just being physically fit. Cole explained how he had powers. They'd been together ever since. _Huh,_ he thought, _that was two years ago._

                He was pulled from his thoughts when walked straight into Cole. He'd stopped suddenly, and Dana stumbled for a second before turning his flashlight into his companions face. "Dude, why the hell?" Dana asked before Cole batted his hand with the flashlight right in his face away and quickly covered Dana's mouth with the other. Cole held his index finger against his lips, making a shushing noise. He cocked his head to the side, listening to their surroundings intently.

                "Did you hear that?" Cole whispered after a minute.

                "Mmrph," Dana replied through Cole's hand.

                "Sorry," Cole said sheepishly, moving his hand away. "No, I didn't hear anything. And go wash your hands, dude, they're gross!" Dana said. Cole rolled his eyes and slowly started creeping towards a nearby clearing through the trees. They stepped in, looking around for anything suspicious.

                "See, there's nothing here, just like I told you. Now can we go back to the house? I'm cold." Dana complained, rubbing his arms in emphasis. Cole ignored him and went back to looking, beaming his flashlight around the clearing, in the trees surrounding it. "I could have sworn…" Cole murmured, trying to listen for movement, but all he could hear were Dana's loud, exuberant complaints. He turned back to the direction of the house, and made the mistake of tripping over a rock. He fell headfirst into a nearby ditch, dropping his flashlight.

                By the moonlight he saw Dana running up to him "Cole! Are you okay man?"

                "Yeah," Cole replied, trying to stand up. "Dana, shine your flashlight in here, I dropped mine." he called up, and prepared to search.

                Dana shined the beam of light into the ditch, looking down, as well. He had to do a double take at what he saw. "Dude…? You might want to look a little to your left."

                "Oh, okay… holy shit!" Cole exclaimed. In the ditch, barely two feet away from him, was a boy. A body. He wasn't sure. "God, is he even alive?" He asked quietly. Dana shrugged, saying without words _I don't fucking know, man_. Cole slowly drew closer to the boy, _the body_ , he had to remind himself. He couldn't get attached in any way, even in thinking he was alive. He would just disappoint himself. He nudged him with his foot, under his ribs, and saw bruises all over his skin. The kid must've done something real bad to get a beating like that. His hands were tied expertly behind his back, and they were tight, digging into wrists. Aside from all of the bruises, which were starting to swell, the kid was good looking enough. He had olive-toned skin and had a strong jaw, and very prominent cheek bones. _It_ _would be too bad if he had dead_ , Cole thought.

                Dana crept closer as Cole knelt beside him, taking out a pocket knife and cutting the zip ties securing him.

                "Bro, are you sure that's a good idea? He could be dangerous." Dana warned, looking concerned. Cole gave him the _look_ and continued sawing through the kid's restraints. Then he moved him until he was flat on his back, and checked his pulse. He was lucky, his heart was beating what Cole assumed was normally, and both Cole and Dana sighed in relief.

                “Help me get him out of here.” Cole told Dana while he started to pick the kid up. As he did so the kids eyes opened a little bit and he groaned trying to get away from Cole. “Whoa, it’s ok. We’re not going to hurt you.” Cole said trying to hold onto him. It seemed that did the trick and the kid stopped and fell limp into Cole’s arms. “Shit, Dana go run ahead and tell Gabe to get the med kit ready.” Cole said and Dana was off leaving Cole with an unconscious teenage boy in his arms. The last thing Cole said before he started back to the house was “What the hell happened to you?”


	2. Meetings

Will was getting picked up off the ground. That confused him enough to get his to open his eyes with a snap. There were two boys around his age looking down at him, looking pleased, but reserved as well. One had straggly, dirty blond hair, and the other had darker skin, with hair cropped a lot shorter and closer to his scalp than the other. Both had clothes on that he was sure had seen better days. He shifted in the arms of the blond one, trying his best to wiggle away to safety- wherever that was. The boy's arms tightened around him in an incredibly strong grip, and Will suddenly knew how it felt when he trapped his cat in his arms and refused to let him go for a while. He protested more, whining and trying to move, but it proved to be doing nothing. The blond was talking to him, trying to reassure him, practically cooing in effort to make him feel more comfortable. Will had to get away... but he felt so tired. So, he let himself slump into the guy's arms and fell into blissful oblivion.

Will hadn't felt this peaceful in so long. There was a void of nothingness around him, away from the voices, the headaches, he felt normal for what felt like the first time in forever. It was like stepping into an air conditioned room after walking a mile in the sun. He floated there for a while enjoying the quiet; then he faintly heard yelling. He couldn't understand a word of it, but it was there, in the distance. It was getting closer, but it wasn't like the voices in his head. It was more like someone calling him, and he thought he heard his name among the gibberish.  
Will wanted to investigate, but he feared that if he acknowledged the calls his allusion of peace would be shattered. He raced to come up with an explanation before he went looking for whoever was yelling. Could it be the blond boy? Was he dreaming? Still, he had to wake up. So against his better judgment, he went towards the figure. As he got closer Will could understand what the voice was saying. "Come over here! Hurry up!" and as the voice- wait, no, guy, became more impatient, "C'mon Will! We don't have a lot of time!" The guy just kept yelling.  
A few moments later, Will made out a guy in the distance, but he noticed for the first time that his vision was a little blurry, somewhat bleeding at the edges, like it wasn't even real. The guy was around his age, give or take a year, with bleached looking blond hair. He was wearing edgy, punk style clothes, and even had eyeliner. He looked like the poster child for a boy band gone rogue.  
As soon as Will was was close enough to notice these things, the boy stopped yelling. "Finally," he said, relief painting his features. Will left a few paces between them, eying the guy suspiciously as he approached. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I'm not going to hurt you. We're like, inside your head anyway, in case you didn't figure that out." The guy rolled his eyes, and suddenly brightened up before continuing, "Oh, I'm Dalton by the way." The boy, Dalton, who now had a name, reached out his hand, letting it hang there for Will to grasp and shake, but Will was still caught on on the fact that they were apparently in his head. Was Dalton a figment of his imagination? and this was all a dream? His train of thought was interrupted by Dalton waving his hand in front of his face. "Look, Will, I know this is kind of a huge mind fuck, but you have to believe me when I tell you: I am a real, well, sort of real, person and I need you to help me." Dalton said. Will looked at him in disbelief.

 

“Ok first of all, how do you know my name? Secondly if you are real, how’d you get in my head? Thirdly why should I help you when you’ve sort of invaded my head?” Will asked getting bolder with each question. Dalton just shook his head and chuckled.  
“You really have no idea what’s going on, do you?” he asked and Will shook his head. “Figures, the one telepath that they haven’t caught doesn’t even know what’s happening. Wait do you still hear the whispers?” Dalton walked over Will looking him up and down. Will backed up a little bit.  
“How did you know about that?” Will asked backing up even more.  
“Every telepath starts hearing the voices right before their power fully develops. When I started hearing them, scared the hell out of me and Cole.” Dalton said, his voice getting softer and sadder as he went on.  
"Well, they're not exactly whispers, anyway, like you said. If they were just whispers then I don't think we're talking about the same thing." Will said irritably. "I have bigger problems than some whispers in my ears." He didn't mean to be petty and argue with the guy, but what was he supposed to say? He was kidnapped by some school bullies, left in a ditch, and now somehow he was with some random dude who talked like he was the answer to all of Will's problems.  
Dalton looked at him, his eyebrows drawn together, like he was in deep thought. Then he put up his hands, took a few steps back, and said, "Look Will, I'm just here to trade a few favors. If you would listen to me you would see how much you actually need me. And I'm in need of some assistance as well, so let's not get off on the wrong foot, okay?" He put out his hand like last time, and after a moment, Will took it.  
Dalton gestured that they walk, and with more than enough space between them, they set off, though Will had no idea where.  
"About your questions earlier, I said you're not awake, and I stand by that. You're probably still out cold in the woods, and until you do wake up neither of us will know. We're in your head, 'cause we're both telepaths. I just had to come to you. Now, I'm going to let you ask any questions you want to, and I'll answer them to the best of my ability. I don't need to know about anything other than the superpower shit, though. Personal stuff is not in my job description." He waved his hand in a signal for Will to start.  
Will tried to gather his thoughts. He needed to figure out the important stuff first. So he asked the most obvious one. "Why am I a telepath? What did I do?" He asked this one nervously. They just popped up when he hit puberty, which was ironic.” Why me… why us?"  
Dalton nodded his head thoughtfully at Will's questions. "Now those, are excellent questions. I still ask them myself, actually. The thing I'm trying to say is: I don't know. None of us know," he said, moving his hands around exuberantly as he talked. "Maybe it's fate, or destiny, or whatever other shit everyone's been believing all these days." He frowned then, "Although, blindly believing that we were just chosen, naturally gifted with no reason or explanation was probably the best thing that ever happened to us. When people start asking questions, that's when people get into predicaments like mine."  
Will continued to listen intently as Dalton explained what happened to him, how he and his friend were captured, tried to be made weapons by them, the "school", where they were tested on and trained and made into science experiments, all by the government. And when they tried to escape only his friend got away. Will felt so bad, he put his arm around the guy, trying to comfort him, despite it not even being his real arm, or body at all pressed up against Dalton.  
Dalton didn't take well to being touched, though. "This isn’t even real, don't try to comfort me, when I'm actually stuck in a lab, hooked up to about a thousand wires keeping me alive." he spat at Will, tugging his arm off his shoulder.  
Will was taken aback, but he understood. Dalton had been through more than Will could imagine, and he had no right to hold it against him.  
He waited for Dalton to calm down, and eventually he said quietly, "Sorry. I know you didn't mean anything by it. Everything's just been shit lately, you know?" and then he asked, "So, do you have any more questions?" You wouldn't even know, Will thought.  
Instead he said, "Yeah, I do. You said you had whispers in your head. For me it's more yelling, everyone's thoughts completely amplified, all at once, fighting for a chance to get me to listen. I need to know how to get it under control, I can't take it anymore." Will had tried things, meditating, yoga, listening to classical music, reading poetry, he even hiked into the mountains once, but no go. They never left, until now, but he knew they would soon return with a fury he wouldn't be able to tolerate.  
“I guess it’s different for everybody, with me it was annoying little whispers constantly. Almost drove me insane.” Dalton shrugged. “I also guess the yelling could also mean the strength of your powers, the louder the voices the stronger your telepathy.” Will considered that, and he wasn’t sure he actually liked the thought of that. He didn’t want ‘powers’ at all. He just wanted to have a normal life. “So does everyone else.” Dalton said.  
“How did you,” Will started to say but he was cut off by Dalton.  
“A) we’re in your head, and B) I’m a telepath, you should expect this. I know how annoying this can be, but getting this under control isn’t something that can be taught per say, it’s more instinct. But, I can help you take control of them faster than if you were on your own.” Dalton told him.  
“Okay, what do I have to do?” Will asked, relieved that the voices would soon stop.  
“Well, you’re probably not gonna like this part.” Dalton said ,coming closer to Will and bringing his hands up. “Just,” he said, pausing and thinking over his words, “stay still, and it’ll be over in a minute.”  
“Wait, what are you doing?” Will asked in alarm. Dalton raised his hands and rested his palms on Will’s cheeks. Will squeaked and tried to duck under his arms, tripping over his feet trying to put some distance between them. Dalton kept coming closer, no matter how much Will moved away, shushing him and telling him it was okay, it wouldn’t hurt that much, stop being such a baby. He reached for him again, and this time Will stopped. He had to get out of here. He squeezed his eyes shut, and concentrated. Dalton suddenly started moving slower, as if he was moving against a great force. Will just kept focus, he was scared, what was Dalton trying to do to him? Suddenly Dalton flew back, and Will’s eyes flashed open, but the world they were standing in was dimming. His mind, spiraling into black. 

Cole walked through the woods, trying not to bang the kid against the tree trunks he was going past. It would have been tedious work, it should have been, but fortunately, at least in this situation, he had some ways of getting around that. He had sent Dana ahead of him, warning the others, but more just so he could calm down Gabe before they got in range. Gabe was definitely the most cautious of the group, not very trusting to anyone other than them 4, and Cole didn’t want the kid to potentially wake up and see the initial blowup. He was already beat up enough.  
He felt a little bad for making Dana run ahead. In truth, he didn’t have to go at a speed any other ordinary teenager wouldn’t, but they both knew they would need a head start so Gabe could calm down. As he got closer to the house he started going slower to prolong the inevitable, and saw the lights to the living room on through the window. He took a breath, and since it had to happen sometime, he stepped onto the porch. David was sitting on the porch, disappointment painting his features. He got up from a wicker patio chair and opened the door. “He’s in the living room,” David said and Cole walked through the door. He walked upstairs to one of the guest room, placing the kid on the bed and tucking him in with a throw blanket that had been splayed across a chair. When he was done he turned around to go downstairs. Only to see that Gabe, beating him to the punch, was leaning on the door frame, a scowl on his face. Cole struggled to keep from looking guilty. He didn’t really do anything wrong. He saved a kid from getting hypothermia at the least, but that probably didn’t matter at all to Gabe.  
“Do you even know what you’re doing by bringing him here?” Gabe asked, glaring at Cole.  
“I couldn’t just leave him out there!” Cole argued angrily. “Are you even looking at him? He’s beat to a pulp! He needs to rest, and whoever did it to him could have come back.” Cole continued, even though as he talked, all of the reasons that they should have just left him there flashed like christmas lights, his subconscious repeating “You fucked up,” over and over. But then again, what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t have left the kid out there after seeing him like that, the guilt would have gnawed at him.Gabe looked at the kid and a look of pity flashed across his face, but he seemed determined to remind Cole of what could happen because of this.  
“What if someone comes looking for him, though? We don’t have another place planned yet, we’d be on the run. And even if someone doesn’t, what if he tells someone about us? They would try to take us again, and this time we might not be able to get away. You might know what they do there, but Dana and David have no idea.” Gabe was upset, and Cole suddenly felt even worse than he did before.  
“Gabe, I’m sorry but I needed to help him. I don’t know why, I just did.” Cole looked down at the kid again, he body was tense and he looked like he having a nightmare. Gabe let out an exasperated sigh and let his shoulders slump. “Let’s just let him sleep, and make a plan.” He walked out of the room, and with one last look at the kid, Cole followed him.  
The all settled on the leather couches in the living room, and started to plan.  
Dana piped up first, speaking directly to Cole. “Before we start, I filled in David already on what’s going on, so team meeting can officially commence.” Then he sat back, looking somewhat please with himself for taking responsibility.  
“Thanks, Dana,” Cole said, and turned back to the rest of the group. “Okay, so I know bringing the guy here could make some trouble for us, so we need to be prepared.So, I’m thinking Dana and I go out for a few days, after we sort out the kid, and search for a new place to stay. We can research first, and if someone finds us here, you follow us there immediately.” Everyone nodded in agreement, and David spoke up. “So, we should probably pack some bags. We set them near the back door, just in case, you know?”  
Cole spoke again, “We good here?” The others all chimed in their approval. “Everyone go pack your bags, then. David, you mind packing mine while I stay watch?”  
“Sure, I’ll get on that,” he said with a mock two fingered salute, and they moved off of the sofas, moving toward the stair when a loud, complicated crash came from upstairs. They looked at each other, and stampeded toward the stairs. Dana pulled ahead of the rest of the group, pounding up the stairs and to the guest room, where the door was banging on the wall, like someone had tried to force it down. Inside, the kid they brought in was shooting up in the bed, with every piece of furniture in the room thrown against the opposite wall, his eyes telling a story of how the most terrifying monster ever created had decided to visit his dream. 

Will jolted awake heaving in strained breaths, his eyes scanning the room rapidly. It looked completely trashed. The furniture looked as though someone had pushed it back roughly and anything that was on the walls or on the shelfs was on the floor, smashed to bits. Where am I? he thought, trying to remember what had happened that day, but it all came up blank. Will suddenly felt a gust of wind and looked at the doorway. Standing there was a boy a couple years younger than him, wearing a snapback and clothes that looked a little too big for him.  
“Hey! Are you ok?” he asked walking towards Will, causing Will to shuffle backwards on the bed till his back was against the wall. “Woah, dude, it’s ok. We’re not gonna hurt you.” he said still walking closer his hands in the air. Will didn't relax, though. The last few hours came crashing back to him, the headaches, the jocks, leaving him in the woods, a vague memory of someone carrying him, and his talk with Dalton. He clutched his head as the memories came rushing back. In the back of his mind he heard footsteps in the hallway and things in the room shaking, but he couldn't do anything about it because the voices were back. They weren't yelling anymore, no they were at a normal volume and one stood out from the rest. It kept telling him to calm down, just over and over again, you need to calm down, calm down, calm down, CALM DOWN. Will winced at the roar of the last command, and lifted his head to see four boys around his age standing in the room. They all looked astonished, well except one. He was the one closest to Will, almost standing next to him. He looked familiar, but for some reason Will couldn't figure out why.  
“How the hell did you do that?” Asked one of them. Will looked up at him and noticed the blonde streak in his hair.  
“Do what?” Will asked in confusion.  
“Don’t play dumb you shithead, this!” He gestured around the room and Will looked around only now realizing that it looked worse than when he first woke up. Basically everything was either destroyed or flipped over.  
Will was in awe himself, had he really done all of this? “I, uh, I don’t,” Will tried to form a sentence but the shock that he actually destroyed this room made it nearly impossible.  
“Dude, that was awesome!” the one with the snapback exclaimed excitedly. Blond Streak glared at him.  
“No, it wasn’t. Look at the room! There is nothing remotely awesome about this.” He turned to Will, fury in his yes, and Will shrunk back under his gaze in reaction. “Who are you? Why were you in the woods?”  
Will stared at him for a second, and then cleared his throat, ran a hand through his hair, and said, “I’m Will. Will Jay. I was, uh, in the woods from my school thought they should ‘teach a lesson’ and so they threw me against a locker, and tossed me into the back of a truck. Then, they drove into the woods, tied my hands behind my back, and threw me into a ditch. All because I didn’t want to do their stupid math homework.” Will said, bitterly looking down. He didn’t want to see the looks they would give him, it most likely be pity, and he didn’t really want to see it. He heard a sigh and people walking out of the room only to come back a few minutes later. He looked up to see Blond Streak standing next to the bed holding a box with a red plus on it. Will looked down at his arms, and all of the bruises.  
“Take your shirt off.” Blond Streak instructed, sitting on the edge of the bed.  
“What?” Will asked moving away a little bit.  
“I need to check the bruising on your chest.” He said and started to open the first aid kit.  
“I don’t really want to take it off in front of strangers,” Will mumbled his cheeks going a shade of light pink.  
“Fair enough. I’m Cole,” the dirty blond near the bed said. “This guy, muscly one, is David. He," Cole said, pointing to a guy wearing a snapback, "is Dana, and the one sitting next to you is Gabe. There you go, now we’re not strangers.” Cole finished, crossing his arms and smirking. Will slowly took his shirt off, wincing a little when he accidentally hit one of the bruises. Will avoided eye contact with everyone else as Gabe looked them over. Eventually, after a minute and okay-ing it with Gabe, the others left. After about ten minutes Gabe had determined that nothing was broken and it would all heal within a couple of weeks. When Gabe met where the zip ties had cut into his skin, he looked pained, wrapped them in gauze, and let Will's hand drop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shitty ending I know, but we felt it was getting to long. Oh and don't expect the chapters to come out on any sort of schedule, with school starting it will be harder to find time to write this. Hope you guys don't mind. Any who, thanks for reading!


	3. Leaving Part 1

Everyone had left Will on his own about an hour ago. David directed him to the bathroom, and the kitchen, and told him to stay put for a while. Everyone was dragging dufflebags and backpacks all over the house, shoving things in as they passed from room to room. Cole, at least that’s what Will thought his name was, he was having a hard time remembering, was on a laptop outside, glancing up at the trees every few moments, keeping watch. Keeping watch from what, Will wasn’t sure. He had yet to have a serious, two-sided conversation with any of them.

As he waited, Will cleaned up, taking a bath to relieve his aching body. He only hoped the relief would last. He didn’t want to overstay his welcome, but he wanted to at least look presentable for when he actually got to thank them. After that he settled down in the living room on a black armchair. He rested his head on his hand and watched the others buzz from room to room. He thought about everything that had happened. The dream, and waking up especially, the room in disaster around him. He wasn’t sure how he could just explain it away to the guys who rescued him. He didn’t even know what had happened yet, or how much worse it was to become.

Will sat there on the couch for a while, and his mind started to drift. He thought about how Dalton said he could make the voices go away if he concentrated. They hadn’t returned, and Will guessed it might be Dalton’s doing; a happy side effect that lasted after the dream ended. How it ended. Will still didn’t really understand what had happened, and he hadn’t stuck around to see what Dalton was going to do to him either. He’d panicked, and now he regretted forcing his way out of his own head. He didn’t get to ask all of the questions he had. But of course when worst came to worst he turned and ran away with his tail between his legs.

Will decided he would try to concentrate. Maybe if he could concentrate and send the ‘whispers’ away, he could do a similar trick and get to listen to them as he pleased.

The whole telepath thing started to be somewhat helpful when he tried to focus on what one of them was thinking. He wasn’t sure whose thoughts it was he had tuned into, though. It was like how old telephone operators used to connect calls, plugging in and suddenly being able to hear. The first person wondering where his lucky shirt was, and damn he needed that luck right about now, but then the thought came to a sudden stop. He didn’t want to think about that. Bewildered, Will tried to move on from that, concentrating on another person’s thoughts. They lingered around the house, and all Will had to do was pluck them from the air, like a ripe berry from a bush, and pull the thought toward him like a mime with an invisible rope. This guy was a worrywart; pent up anxiety and stress keeping him from focusing on what he was shoving in his knapsack. They needed to leave, was essentially what Will was taking from him, but he seemed a little frantic, his thoughts moving along too quickly for Will to understand exactly what was going on. Will thought it was probably Gabe, who had been yelling at Cole earlier about how it was dangerous to bring Will here. Then he just felt guilty. He was hacking into other people’s minds. That should be one thing that’s personal, and Will was just walking in on what was one person’s only. He quickly back pedalled, leaving Gabe alone. He continued sitting on the couch, feeling dirty and gross and still in the dark. 

 

_Another mansion in the woods would be nice,_  Cole thought googling for different small towns in the area. Probably not, this place was a one in a million find. He looked up again to make sure no one was around. Not seeing anything, he went back to his computer. As he was looking an idea popped into his head. Cole subtily looked behind him to see Will off in his own little world. Can you hear me? He smirked when he saw Will’s head shoot up and look around him. Cole had had his suspicions that Will was a telepath as well as having telekinesis, but now he was almost positive. He just needed one more piece of evidence. If you can hear me raise your left hand, and up Will’s left hand went. Yep, he’s a telepath. Finally we found one.

 

Can you hear me? The words caused Will to be jolted out of his daze; his head jerked up, and his eyes widened in shock as he frantically looked around to see if anybody was talking to him, but the room was empty. If you can hear me raise your left hand, and Will did so, looking out the window to the porch, where Cole was turning his head away, smirking. Will shot up to his feet, still staring at Cole, and nerves prickled up and down his spine as he tried to decipher what to do, how Cole could have known. Cole just looked back at his laptop screen, as if he hadn’t done anything, and continued clicking through a- is that a retail site? Will continued to listen, but it wasn’t like before. The thoughts were pouring into his head with little to no effort on Will’s part. Which was weird, but Will suddenly didn’t feel so bad about listening to Cole’s thoughts. He knew Will could do it anyway. Heck, he was probably expecting it. But how could he have known? Maybe he was the voice telling him to calm down earlier. It was like Cole knew about him being a telepath before he did. How did he know about telepaths anyway? Or powers?

Then Will heard feet pounding down the stairs in a succession. He looked back at Cole for a second before pulling out, disentangling himself from his thoughts, and hurriedly sat down. He threw an arm over the couch, trying to look at ease and not totally guilty of filing through all of their thoughts only minutes before. He found it was harder than it would have seemed. They three guys came from the stairwell with backpacks over their shoulders, and Blond Streak went to the porch and started talking to Cole. They were too quiet to hear, but every once and a while one of them would throw a glance Will’s way.”What are they talking about?” Will wondered out loud.

“Probably whether you’re coming or not.” Dana replied from behind him.

“Wait- coming where?” Will asked turning around to face Dana.

“Wherever we’re going next.”Dana said casually. Will was taken aback by that. He was pretty sure that Cole knew he was a telepath, at least 80%, but he couldn’t have imagined how the others could have just made that decision 

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Will asked, confusion drawing his eyebrows together, his arms to cross self consciously. “And what makes you think I would go anywhere with you anyway?”

“Well going with us is safer than staying here and people finding out about your powers.” Dana stated as if it was obvious. Will bristled at that, even if it was true. He had been having much of a harder time hiding the telepathy in the past few weeks. He’d managed, though. He could still keep doing that. He even knew how to control it a little bit now, anyway. He could keep it up for as long as he needed to. Did they also just assume he would follow them blindly, like a confused puppy? He didn’t even know these people and they just expected that he’d be onboard with just leaving his family and his life! Who wanted to live like that? With a bunch of strangers, “trying to survive” or whatever else they were selling. Will couldn’t, no wouldn’t go with them. He just needed to go home.

“I need to go.” Will mumbled. He walked out of the room, passing the guys, who looked shocked, before they followed him.

“Wait! You seriously don’t even know what you’re getting yourself into! It’s not safe!”, Dana argued, practically shouting in attempt to get Will to listen. He just ignored them, and stormed through the front door, slamming the screen door behind him.

Cole and Gabe looked surprised to see Will stomping out the door and started walking back towards the entrance of the woods. “Hey! Where are going?” Cole yelled running to catch up to him. But Will didn’t want to talk.

He spun around and said as sarcastically as he could, “Sorry, were you going to save me?”, he put a mock-sympathetic expression on his face, “well, I guess you can go find some other kid with super powers and save them. I’m sure they need your help desperately. I’m not hopping on your bandwagon of runaways anytime soon, so save your breath.” He was practically hostile by the time he finished. He glared pointedly at Cole, and the others who had stayed on the porch, looking at him, stricken. Then, he turned on his heel and walked away. Everyone else just stood there in shock, and watched him disappear between the trees.

 

Will walked through the woods just wanting to curl up in his bed and wake up tomorrow and convince himself that this was all just a dream. It was ironic how only about 12 hours ago he had wanted that same exact thing. He continued trudging through the woods. The light of the moon kept him from tripping over every spare twig littering the ground. When he walked into a part of woods with particularly dense tree branches overhead, which blocked out the light and caused him to walk right into a tree, he decided to pull out his phone. He had turned it off for school, what was it, yesterday by now?, so he had to wait for it to boot up. When the light flashed it blinded Will for a second, not used to the bright light of his phone, and he quickly turned the setting down so it wouldn’t be so harsh against the blackness that surrounded him. Then he went to turn on his flashlight, but all of the notifications he had distracted him before he could do so.

There were countless missed calls and texts saying things like “Where are you?” and “We’re worried, come home!” Will looked at the time and groaned. It was almost three in the morning. Oh god, they’re either going to kill me or coddle me so much they’ll never let me out of the house again, Will thought with dismay. He decided texting was the easier way of telling them he was okay for the moment. Maybe if he could postpone the verbal interrogation he would most likely receive, it would be easier. He sent it to his mother.

 

**Mom, everything’s okay. I’m coming home now. I’ll explain later. Love you x Will**

 

Then with a sigh, he turned on his flashlight and continued walking with the beam of light cutting him a path through the trees. By the time he finally was walking up the driveway to his house, Will felt he could sleep for about a year or so. The lights were still on in the living room, and his mother was sitting near the window, her head drooped against the window sill. Will felt guilty about keeping his mom up this late and decided not to prolong any longer, he just hoped he could come up with a believable excuse of why he was out so late. He slowly turned the door knob and pushed the door open a quietly as he could, but the door creaked open loudly, echoing throughout the room. By that point Will just accepted the fact the universe hated him and kept moving. Before he stepped over the threshold he stopped to take off his muddy sneakers; his mother wouldn’t appreciate having to scrub the carpet tomorrow, or if she was mad enough, she would make him do it. Before he made his escape, he tiptoed over to the lamp next to the couch and turned it off, and threw a blanket over his mother. Then Will carefully and quietly made his way upstairs, still not making a sound in attempt to try not to wake anyone. Fortunately, he made it to his bedroom without incident, and the second he was in his room Will dropped his shoes on the ground took off his jeans and dove straight into his bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow Will was asleep.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So better ending than last chapter, yay! Also sorry for the delay but we both just started high school, so things are kind of hectic. Thirdly if anyone was wondering who writes these horrible ANs it is I Flamingoskull123 who does. Any who as always thanks for reading and we'll try to get the next chapter out quickly, love you all!


End file.
